


Rose Colored Headcannons

by Thors_Drawers



Series: Rose Colored Redemption [3]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2020-10-14 18:37:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20605460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thors_Drawers/pseuds/Thors_Drawers
Summary: Some headcannons for the AU my series Rose Colored Redemption is set in. The main fic is If There Is Beauty





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some headcannons for the ranch. Some of them had been posted at the end of If There Is Beauty, but since I added more (and may continue to do so) I decided to take them off of that and give them their own post.

* The ranch is the A double R, for Annabelle's Rose Ranch.

*Annabelle was the one to put the idea of ranching in Dutch and Arthur's minds, she lived on one as a little girl. They'd wanted to go west, be free, but had no real plan for when they got there. After Annabelle's murder Dutch was all the more determined that they would have a ranch, in her honor.

*While Hosea and the rest of the gang like the ranch idea, they are never as stuck on it as Dutch and Arthur.

*The ranch is run like a democracy, Dutch is not the boss tho most folks still defer to him and Hosea, primarily out of habit, but also respect.

*With Dutch's stress from leading the gang gone, and Molly living the more comfortable life she prefers, their relationship improves greatly. Dutch stops carousing and they rarely fight.

*Arthur and Ambrose develop a close bond after finding out that the other had also lost a son at around the same age.

* The most we ever learn about Ambrose's late son and wife, Martha, is that they died in a fire - tho there seems to be more to the story.

*Arthur and Javier take occasional fishing trips to Moses Lake, Ambrose often joins them.

*The town is loosely based on Ephrata WA. Its a small town just east of the Cascade Mountains that was established around the same time, when a man named Bixby ( It was originally Bixbyville, the name was changed later) bought the land cheap and started a horse ranch. The town currently has a population of only around 7,500.

* In an attempt to keep his identity hidden, John had grown out his beard, covering his scars. He started shaving again once the plan was set, but grows it back for at least a few years after this is all over, just to be safe.

* I don't use them in story to keep things clear, but the gang members with bounties do use aliases. Tess has no bounty, so Arthur takes her name when they marry.

* One of the letters Arthur sends along to fake his identity is from Mary. He's worried Tess might be mad he still has it, but then John teases him (during Dutch and Hosea's talk) for having, like, never cleaned out his satchel and they all have a laugh.

* Albert, Charlotte, Hamish etc all know who Arthur is/was, his wanted posters are all over and they read papers etc

* Arthur and Tess have a total of two children, both girls. John and Abigail end up with five kids and don't get a girl until the last one.

* Arthur would love to have more kids (he genuinely wants more, but a small part of him is also competing with John), but Tess' second pregnancy has some complications and the Dr isn't sure Tess could still conceive, and doesn't think it a good idea to try. 

* Tess is ok with this, she's seen Abigail run ragged by her five children (six if you count John, and some days...) 

* As much as Arthur loves his girls, and his life in general, sometimes he needs some guy time. Since John and Abigail hardly get a moment of peace or privacy with five kids, once a month or so Uncle Arthur takes the four boys on a camping or hunting trip. John's daughter (Rachel, since he still has Old Boy in this AU, lol) spends that time with Tess and the girls. Arthur can't even imagine just how much Abigail appreciates this.

* Kieren and Mary-Beth eventually marry, but are unable to conceive. After talking to her husband about her time in an orphanage they decide to visit the one in Spokane. They end up adopting a pair of twins (boy and girl) who are four years old, the same age as Annabelle (Annie), Arthur's youngest. 

* Uncle John, who also spent time in an orphanage, has a tendency to spoil the twins - Jeremiah & June, especially around Christmas.

* Arthur puts Sean in touch with Hamish and the two develop a strong long-distance friendship. (possible fic of letters back and forth coming... maybe)


	2. Chapter 2

* In RDR2 John is kind of a big dumb man baby, but in RDR1 he's a mature responsible family man. This AU assumes that having the gang fall apart and being forced to leave his brother to die alone on that mountain had a large part in maturing John. Since those things never happened in this world John is still kind of a big dumb man baby. But, he is getting better - just slower.

* After fishing John out of various rivers, lakes etc when they were young, Arthur has made it his mission to make sure every child on the ranch knows how to swim.

* The town is small enough that there is no school. So every Sunday after service at Swanson's church Mary-Beth (who attends service) and Hosea (who doesn't) join Swanson at the church to give reading and basic math lessons to anyone (child or adult) who wants them.

*A fair amount of the adults on the ranch don't attend church service, but Susan and Mary-Beth gather up all the ranch kids and take them every Sunday. Arthur and John are both slightly uncomfortable with this, but they let it go for the schooling and the chance for their kids to socialize with the town kids.

* Tess, who is 1/2 Mexican and 1/2 Irish, frequently cooks traditional recipes from both cultures, passed on from her parents. Javier and Sean are frequent dinner guests.

* Arthur loves Tess' cooking (especially when she makes tamales) and actually puts on a little bit of a tummy. Tess likes to pinch it and make him blush.

* John, tho broad shouldered, couldn't put on weight if his life depended on it. He likes to tease Arthur about his "gut". Arthur usually teases back that Abigail's cooking is why John is so thin (but not if front of Abby, of course).

* Charles remains an avid hunter, right up to his death. Often hunting more game than is needed at the ranch and donating the meat to the poorer families in town or drying it for whomever might need it in the winter months.

* Arthur calls June (Keiren and Mary-Beth's adopted daughter) June Bug. When she's a teen she acts like she hates it, but secretly she loves it.

* Years of sleeping on small cots or bedrolls had very different effects on Tess and Arthur's sleeping habits. Arthur still sleeps like he always had; flat on his back, pretty much on the edge of the bed, not moving much in the night. Tess, on the other hand starts out peacefully on her side, but as the night goes on she sprawls out, tosses and turns, and is in general a total bed and blanket hog. But, as she starts to wake up she moves back to her original position, she knows she steals the blankets ( she's woken up cocooned while Arthur is all but uncovered to many times not to) but has no idea how mush she hogs the bed. In their 30 years of marriage, Arthur never tells her.

* He does complain about her cold feet , though. Nightly.

* She also snores like some kind of wild beast. When they were together, years back, Sean had teased her about it, but she never believed him until one day while sitting around the big chow hall table he teased her about it again. She turned to Arthur for back up, but he just rubbed the back of his neck and said "Well, actually, Sean's got a point there darlin'." Still thinking they were just messing with her, Tess turned to Dutch who was walking by with his empty dish "Dutch, do I..." Without even looking up, Dutch cut her off, "Like a hog with a head cold, my dear."

* Luckily none of this really phases Arthur. Another left over from sleeping in camp for so many years, was that he was somehow both a heavy and light sleeper at once. He could sleep through almost anything, but he wrong noise would wake him instantly. Sleeping through Tess' snores were no problem after years of all the camp noises, but one bark from Beau or a hoof beat outside that he wasn't expecting would have him up in a heartbeat.


End file.
